It's a good book. One that gets better as it goes along.
One funny thing about it: The blatant racism of the author! You can really tell it was written in another era.
It helps to know a little bit of sailing, as he throws around terms expecting the reader to know.
Anyone looking for a drug book, this isn't it. They renamed it with Hashish in the title when it was reprinted, probably to attract attention, but it's really about smuggling and sailing, not drugs.